Firearm, in particular a self-loading small-caliber rifle

ABSTRACT

A firearm, in particular a self-loading small-caliber rifle, having a barrel, a breech housing having a breech held in it, with the breech and/or the breech housing being designed such that the firearm can be changed from a first assembled arrangement, which is suitable for right-handed gunners, to a second assembled arrangement which is suitable for left-handed gunners, with the firearm preferably being in the form of a rifle of the Bullpup type.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a firearm, in particular to aself-loading small-caliber rifle.

A firearm of the type mentioned above is comparatively complex. Inparticular, a firearm such as this is frequently suitable only forright-handed gunners. The firearm can only be converted only by means ofexpensive additional parts to make it suitable for left-handed gunners.

One problem on which the invention is based is to provide a firearm ofthe type mentioned initially which can be converted at low cost and/oreasily for left-handed gunners and right-handed gunners.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The firearm according to the invention may be in the form of a rifle, inparticular a small-caliber rifle. However, the firearm may also be inthe form of a handheld firearm, in particular a pistol or revolver.

The invention provides for the breech and/or the breech housing to bedesigned such that the firearm can be changed from a first assembledarrangement, which is suitable for right-handed gunners, to a secondassembled arrangement, which is suitable for left-handed gunners, withthe firearm preferably being in the form of a rifle of the Bullpup type.Particularly in the case of a rifle of the Bullpup type, it has beenfound to be extremely important to adapt the firearm for left-handed orright-handed gunners since, otherwise, powder vapors or the like emergeclose to the gunner's head.

In this case, the invention makes it possible to provide the capabilityfor the assembled arrangement which is suitable for right-handedgunners, to use essentially the same parts, in particular, the identicalparts, as those used for the assembled arrangement which is suitable forleft-handed gunners.

A firearm according to the invention provides the capability, by meansof the arrangement of the individual parts with respect to one another,to assemble the firearm either such that it is suitable for aright-handed gunner, or else to assemble it such that it is suitable fora left-handed gunner. This avoids additional costly parts forconversion.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the breech and/or thebreech housing to be essentially left/right symmetrical in the installedposition. The symmetrical configuration of the breech housing allows thelow-cost conversion mentioned above to be achieved using the same partsand in a very simple means.

The invention in this case makes it possible to provide for the breechhousing to have cutouts both on its left-hand side in the installedposition and on its right-hand side in the installed position, whosesize and position correspond to one another on the left-hand side and onthe right-hand side.

The invention in this case makes it possible to provide for panels aswell as an injection window to be incorporated in the cutouts.

The invention in this case makes it possible to provide for a slideretraction lever to project through one of the cutouts both on theright-hand side and on the left-hand side of the breech housing,depending on the assembled arrangement.

The symmetrical arrangement of the cutouts on the left-hand side and onthe right-hand side of the breech housing thus makes it possible tointerchange the panels and injection windows in a very simple manner, sothat the firearm can be converted from the first assembled arrangementto the second assembled arrangement in little time and at low cost.

The invention makes it possible to provide breech to in each case have alongitudinal slot and/or a circular opening on its left-hand side andright-hand side in the installed position.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the size and position ofthe longitudinal slot which is arranged on the left-hand side tocorrespond to the size and position of the longitudinal slot which isarranged on the right-hand side, and/or for the size and position of theopening which is arranged on the left-hand side to correspond to thesize and position of the opening which is arranged on the right-handside.

The invention in this case makes it possible to provide for an extractorand/or a slide retraction lever to be fitted both on the left-hand sideof the breech and on the right-hand side of the breech.

The symmetrical design of the breech can thus be used to change thefirearm from the first assembled arrangement to the second assembledarrangement using very simple means and at low cost.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the breech to be in theform of an MIM (metal injection molding) part, in particular in the formof an MIM part composed substantially of steel. The use of an MIM partfor the breech considerably reduces the production costs for the breech.Nevertheless, a breech can be produced from steel powder for theproduction of this MIM part, which has approximately the same densityand approximately the same characteristics as a breech which is machinedfrom steel.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the breech housing to bemanufactured at least partially from a zinc dye-casting.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the system housing to bemanufactured at least partially from a zinc dye-casting.

The production of the breech housing and system housing from a zincdye-casting reduces the production costs for these parts, with theirfunctionality not being adversely affected, or being adversely affectedonly insignificantly, by the choice of a zinc dye-casting as thematerial. Furthermore, the use of zinc dye-cast parts reduces the weightof the firearm.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the stock to bemanufactured at least partially from plastic. Manufacturing the stockfrom plastic reduces the production costs of the firearm, and reducesits weight.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the sear to be at leastpartially in the form of an MIM part, in particular, an MIM part whichis composed substantially of steel. Manufacturing the sear as an MIMpart also considerably reduces the production costs of the firearm.

The production of individual parts of the firearm as an MIM part, zincdye-cast part, or plastic part offers the advantage that parts, such asthese, can be removed ready for use from the corresponding mold that isused to produce them. There is no need for labor-intensive subsequentmachining, thus making it possible to considerably reduce the productioncosts.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the barrel to beconnected to the breech housing via an eccentric screw connection. Theeccentric screw connection allows a very firm connection, involving verylittle complexity, to be produced between the barrel and the breechhousing, in particular because a single screw makes it possible toprovide two different contact options.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the firearm to have astock upper part which can be connected to the breech housing via alatching connection. The use of a latching connection for connection ofthe stock upper part to the breech housing makes it easier todisassemble and assemble the firearm.

The invention in this case makes it possible to provide for the firearmto have a rear stock, which covers the latching connection between thestock upper part and the breech housing when the firearm is in theassembled state. The use of the rear stock to cover the area of thelatching connection between the stock upper part and the breech housingresults in the latching connection providing similar safety to a screwconnection as is known from the prior art.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the rifle to have amagazine safety device which can block the push rod. Magazine safetydevices are admittedly known from the art for handheld firearms, but notfor long-barreled weapons. The present invention thus for the first timeprovides a magazine safety device for a long-barreled weapon.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the push rod to beconnected to the trigger via a spring element, in particular via anangled spring steel rod. The connection of the push rod to the triggervia a spring element makes it possible to prevent pressure on thetrigger causing damage to the firearm when the push rod is blocked bythe magazine safety device, because the spring element can absorb theforces that are applied.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the firearm to have twobreech springs which are parallel to one another. The use of two breechsprings instead of one large breech spring, as is known from the art,makes it possible to further reduce the production costs of the firearm.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the stop damper to bemanufactured from plastic. The use of plastic for the stop damper on theone hand reduces the recoil mode, while on the other hand it allows thecosts for production of the firearm to be reduced.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the stop damper to haveat least one holder for guiding the spring guide rod. The stop dampercan thus carry out two functions, specifically on the one hand thefunction of damping and on the other hand the function of guiding thespring guide rod. This makes it possible to further reduce the costs ofthe firearm.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the firearm to have twomagazine holders. Despite the rifle being of the Bullpup type, theabovementioned measure according to the invention for the first timemakes it possible to also accommodate a spare magazine in a rifle suchas this.

The invention makes it possible to provide for an unlocking element forremoval of a magazine to be arranged in the recess, in particular on therear face of the recess. Positioning of the unlocking element on therear face of the recess, which is used as a thumbhole, has been found tobe highly ergonomic.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the stock to have amounting rail, and for a sight part of the sight (48) to be integratedin the mounting rail. Integration of the sight part in the mounting railmakes the firearm more compact, and can contribute to reducing theproduction costs of the firearm.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the sight part to bemoved from a stow position to an in-use position, in particular bymoving it upwards to the in-use position of the firearm. The capabilityto stow the sight part makes it possible to protect it against damage.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the sight to have a diskwhich can rotate and has grooves which are used for aiming in it, inwhich case different grooves can be used to select different elevationpositions for aiming. The disk which can rotate and has the variousgrooves allows different elevation aiming positions in a very simplemanner.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the safety unit to haveat least one operating slide with a safety vane which is arranged on itat the end and has a colored marking, with a safety vane which has acolored marking being visible during the aiming process, in particularfrom above, when the firearm is in the armed state. The visibility ofthe safety vane with the colored marking during the aiming processimproves the handling safety of the firearm according to the invention.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the firearm to have achildproof safety device which acts on the safety unit. In the priorart, childproof safety devices generally act on the trigger itself. Achildproof safety device which acts on the safety unit reduces thecomplexity for production of a childproof safety device such as this.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the firearm to have acocking indication. A cocking indication such as this provides thegunner at all times with information as to whether or not the firearm iscocked.

In this case, The invention makes it possible to provide for the cockingindication to be in the form of a colored marking on the rear face ofthe or of one of the panels, which can be inserted into one or more ofthe cutouts in the breech housing. The arrangement of the coloredmarkings for the cocking indication on the rear face of one of thepanels represents a very simple way to produce a capability to providesuch a cocking indication.

The invention makes it possible to provide for the system housing tohave the capability to be connected to the rear stock by means of atleast one screw, which can be held on the rear stock by means of aflexible plastic part. The abovementioned flexible plastic part which,by way of example, can also be injection molded during the manufactureof the rear stock from plastic allows the screw to be held by verysimple means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages and features of the present invention will becomeclear from the following description of preferred exemplary embodimentsand with reference to the attached figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective exploded illustration of a firearm accordingto the invention and in the form of a rifle;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective exploded illustration of a rear section ofthe rifle in an assembled arrangement for right-handed gunners;

FIG. 3 shows an illustration, corresponding to FIG. 2, in an assembledarrangement for left-handed gunners;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective detailed view of a section of the barrel andthe breech housing;

FIG. 5 shows a sectioned detail from FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 shows a perspective detailed view of the upper stop and of thebreech housing detached from one another;

FIG. 7 shows a view, corresponding to FIG. 6, of the upper stock andbreech housing connected to one another;

FIG. 8 shows a section corresponding to the arrows VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 shows a detailed side view of the breech housing with the breecharranged at the rear;

FIG. 10 shows a view, corresponding to FIG. 9, with the breech arrangedat the front and with the sear cocked;

FIG. 11 shows a detailed perspective exploded view of the breech withspring guide rods, a breech spring and a stop damper;

FIG. 12 shows a perspective view of the parts which can be seen in FIG.11 in the assembled state and with the breech in a first position;

FIG. 13 shows a view, corresponding to FIG. 12, with the breech in asecond position;

FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of a system housing half, of thetrigger and of a spring element connecting them together;

FIG. 15 shows a side view of a central part of the rifle with a safetyunit;

FIG. 16 shows a plan view of a central part of the rifle with the safetyunit;

FIG. 17 shows a detailed view of an area of the rifle essentially abovethe trigger, with a sight in a stowed position;

FIG. 18 shows a view, corresponding to FIG. 17, with the sight in anextended position;

FIG. 19 shows a detailed view corresponding to the arrow IX-IX in FIG.18;

FIG. 20 shows a detailed side view of a central section of the rifleaccording to the invention, with the grip and with a part of the rearstock;

FIG. 21 shows a detailed view corresponding to the arrow XXI-XXI in FIG.20;

FIG. 22 shows a partially sectioned illustration of a rear section ofthe rifle, which shows the connection between the rear stock and thesystem housing;

FIG. 23 shows a detailed view corresponding to the arrow XXIII-XXIII inFIG. 22;

FIG. 24 shows a perspective view of a part of the system housing with amagazine inserted;

FIG. 25 shows a view corresponding to FIG. 24 with the magazine havingbeen pulled downward;

FIG. 26 shows a detailed view corresponding to XXVI-XXVI in FIG. 24;

FIG. 27 shows a detailed view corresponding to XXVII-XXVII in FIG. 25;and

FIG. 28 shows a perspective view of the rifle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The firearm according to the invention, which is in the form of a rifle,and of which an exploded illustration can be seen in FIG. 1 and aperspective view can be seen in FIG. 28 essentially has a barrel 1, abreech 2 with a breech housing 3, a trigger 4, a system housing withsystem housing halves 5, 6, as well as a front stock 7, a rear stock 8and a stock upper part 9.

The detailed view of the rear section of the rifle illustrated in FIG. 2and FIG. 3 shows that a grip 10 is integrally formed on the rear stock8. Two cutouts 11, 12 are arranged on each of the longitudinal faces ofthe breech housing 3. The size and position of the cutouts 11, 12 on theleft-hand side of the breech housing 3 correspond exactly to the sizeand position of the cutouts 11, 12 on the right-hand side of the breechhousing 3.

In the assembled arrangement of the rifle according to the invention asillustrated in FIG. 2, the cutouts 11, 12 which are located on theleft-hand side of the breech housing 3 are closed by panels 13, 14. Anejection window 15 is incorporated in the front cutout 11 in the firingdirection on the right-hand side of the breech housing, through which anextractor 16 which is located in the interior of the breech housing caneject the empty cartridge cases. The empty cartridge cases are thusejected on the right-hand rear side of the rifle, so that the rifle issuitable for a right-handed gunner. An extractor 17 is also arranged ina corresponding manner on the right-hand side of the breech 2. Thebreech is likewise symmetrical for this arrangement of the extractor 17and for the arrangement of a slide retraction lever 18, such that theabovementioned parts can be used both on the left-hand side and on theright-hand side of the breech 2. In this context, reference should bemade to FIG. 11, which shows a longitudinal slot 19 on the breech 2 forholding the extractor 17, and an opening 20 with a circular crosssection for holding the slide retraction lever 18. In this case,longitudinal slots 19 and openings 20 whose sizes and positions in eachcase correspond exactly to one another are located both on the left-handside and on the right-hand side of the breech 2.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, the slide retraction lever 18 extends to theright from the breech 2, so that it can extend to the right out of thebreech housing 3 through the rear cutout 12 in the firing direction. Theassembled arrangement shown in FIG. 2 is thus suitable for right-handedgunners.

In the assembled arrangement for left-handed gunners shown in FIG. 3,the panels 13, 14 are inserted into the cutouts 11, 12 on the right-handside of the breech housing 3. The ejection window 15 is inserted in acorresponding manner into the front cutout 11 on the left-hand side ofthe breech housing 3. Furthermore, the extractor 17 and the slideretraction lever 18 are mounted on the left-hand side of the breech 2,so that the slide retraction lever 18, in particular, can extend out ofthe breech housing 3 through the rear left-hand cutout 12. The assembledarrangement shown in FIG. 3 is thus suitable for left-handed gunners.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 in particular show that the process of conversion froman assembled arrangement for right-handed gunners to an assembledarrangement for left-handed gunners can be carried out without the useof additional parts. All that is necessary is to move parts from theleft-hand side to the right-hand side, and parts from the right-handside to the left-hand side.

FIG. 11 once again illustrates the breech 2, in more detail. Accordingto the invention, the breech 2 is in the form of an MIM part (MetalInjection Molding). In this case, the breech is, in particular, formedso as to allow the breech to be produced using the MIM method. Furthermaterials which are used are plastic for the stock, that is to say forthe front stock 7, the rear stock 8 and the stock upper part 9. Thesystem housing and the breech housing 3 are manufactured from a zincdye-casting. It is also possible for the sear 21 which can be seen inFIG. 1 to be produced from steel using the MIM method.

FIG. 11 also shows that two spring guide rods 22 can be attached to thebreech 2, with two breech springs 23 being guided on them. FIG. 11 aswell as FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 also show a stop damper 24, through whichthe spring guide rods 22 extend. The stop damper 24 may be composed ofplastic while, in contrast, the spring guide rods 22 and the breechsprings 23 may be composed of steel. FIG. 12 shows the breech in a frontposition while, in contrast, FIG. 13 shows the breech in a rear stopposition, in which the breech springs 23 are in the cocked state In theembodiment which can be seen from FIG. 11 to FIG. 13 it is worth notingthat the stop damper 24 is at the same time used to guide the springguide rods 22. Two holes which extend through the stop damper 24 in thelongitudinal direction of the rifle are provided in the stop damper 24for this purpose, in which case end stops 25 for the spring guide rods22 can also rest, in the assembled state, on that side of the stopdamper 24 which faces away from the breech.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the connection of the breech housing 3 to thestock upper part 9. The stock upper part 9 has four latching tongues 26which project downward and can be introduced into corresponding latchingholders 27 which are provided on both sides of the breech housing 3. Inthis case, FIG. 8 shows that the latching tongues 26 have a thickenedarea on their lower face, which can engage in a groove (which is used asa latching holder 27) in the breech housing 3.

As can be seen from FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in this case, the breech housing3 and the stock upper part 9 are introduced into the rear stock 8 in theassembled state, in which they are clipped to one another, with theconnecting areas between the latching tongues 26 and the latchingholders 27 being covered in a fitting form at the side by the rear stock8 when the stock is in the assembled state, so that the connectionbetween the breech housing 3 and the stock upper part 9 cannot bedetached in this assembled state.

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the connection between the breech housing 3 andthe barrel 1. The connection is made via a holding plate 28, which isfitted to the breech housing 3 by means of a screw 29. The detailed viewin FIG. 5 in this case shows that a threaded hole 30 is provided in thebreech housing 3, and is used to hold the screw 29. Furthermore, a hole31 is provided in the holding plate 28, and is used to allow the screw29 to be passed through the holding plate 28. Furthermore, a cutoutwhich extends conically into the holding plate 28 is provided on thefront face of the holding plate 28, in order to accommodate the head 33of the screw 29. In this case, the rotationally symmetrical cutout 32is, in particular, not formed to be coaxial with respect to therotationally symmetrical hole 31 so that the holding plate is moved bothto the right as shown in FIG. 5 and upwards as shown in FIG. 5 byscrewing the screw into the threaded hole 30 and thus by pushing theconical head 33 of the screw 29 into the cutout 32. This allows theholding plate 28 to fix the barrel 1 on the breech housing 3 both in thelongitudinal direction of the rifle and in the vertical direction. Oncethe screw 29 has been screwed in, it is mechanically protected againstsliding out. For this purpose, a bracket-like screw securing device ispushed from the side through a slot over the thread of the screw 29, forexample in the end area of the arrow, which is provided with thereference symbol 30.

As can be seen from FIG. 14, the trigger 4 is connected to the push rod35 via a spring element 34. The push rod 35 is in this case arranged onthe system housing, the right-hand system housing half 5 of which isillustrated in FIG. 14.

FIG. 14 also shows a locking element 36 for a magazine safety device.This locking element 36 can engage in a corresponding groove 37 in thepush rod 35. The spring element 34 is in the form of an angled springsteel rod, which can absorb the forces exerted by the user on thetrigger when the push rod is blocked by the magazine safety device.

The function of the magazine safety device can be seen in detail fromFIG. 24 to FIG. 27. In particular, these figures indicate that thelocking element 36 is in the form of a tab at the end of a locking lever54 which can pivot and can be pivoted upward against the force of aspring 55. Pivoting the locking lever 54 upwards allows the magazine 56to be inserted (in this context, see FIG. 26). FIG. 25 and FIG. 27 showthat the locking lever 54 pivots downwards once the magazine 56 has beenremoved, so that the locking element 36 can engage in the groove 37,thus preventing a shot from being fired.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 also show that, despite the rifle according to theinvention being of the Bullpup type, it is designed such that twoholders 38, 39 for magazines, which are not illustrated, are provided inthe rear stock 8.

In this case, the front holder 38 is used for holding the magazine thatis being used at that time while, in contrast, the rear holder 39 isused for holding a spare magazine.

FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 20 also show that the rear stock 8 has a cutout40, which is used as a thumb hole, behind the grip 10. A longitudinalslot 41 which extends essentially vertically is provided on the rearface of this cutout 40 in the rear stock 8 in order to accommodate anunlocking element 53 (in this context, see FIG. 20 and FIG. 21). Thisunlocking element 53 is used to unlock the magazine, so that it can beremoved from the cutout 38.

FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show a detailed view of the breech housing 3 with thebreech 2 located in it. This shows the view from the right-hand side,with the rifle being in an assembled arrangement for right-handedgunners. The rear cutout 12 in the breech housing 3 is thus closed by apanel 14 on the side which cannot be seen but is at the rear in FIG. 9and FIG. 10, although the inner face of the panel 14 can be seen in FIG.10. Red markings 42 which can be seen in FIG. 10 are arranged on thisinner face of the panel 14. These red markings 42 can be seen by thegunner when the breech 2 is pushed forward, with the sear 21 thus beingcocked. The rear face of the panel 14 can thus be used as a cockingindication.

FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show a safety unit 43 in the central part of therifle. The safety unit 43 has an operating slide 44 on each of the sidesof the rifle, with the two operating slides 44 being connected to oneanother. The operating slides 44 have red safety vanes 45 at their rearends, which project upwards out of the stock when the rifle is armed.FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 show the armed position. The red safety vanes 45 canbe seen by the gunner from above while aiming, thus improving the safetyof the rifle. The safety unit 43 may also have a red dot 46 in a knownmanner on the front face of the respective operating slide 44, whichlikewise indicates the armed state of the rifle.

The rifle also has a childproof safety device 47, which can likewise beseen in FIG. 15. This childproof safety device 47 may in this case have,in a known manner, a rotating element with, by way of example, aroof-like external profile which can be operated only by using asuitable key. The childproof safety device does not act directly on thetrigger, but on the safety unit 43, which cannot be moved from the safeposition to the armed position when the childproof safety device 47 islocked.

FIG. 17 to FIG. 19 show a sight 48, which essentially comprises a sightpart 50, which is arranged on a mounting rail 49 on the stock such thatit can be moved. The sight 48 is, in particular, integrated in themounting rail 49 on the front stock 7. The sight part 50 is shown inFIG. 17 in a position in which it has been pushed downwards and is thusstowed, while, in contrast, FIG. 18 shows the sight part 50 pushedupwards, and thus ready for use. FIG. 19 shows that the sight part 50has a disk 51 which can rotate and has grooves 52 arranged on thecircumference. The grooves 52 are in this case used for aiming at atarget and are at different radial distances from the center of rotationof the disk 51. This allows the elevation position of the sight to beadjusted. FIG. 19 shows that a total of six different grooves areprovided on the disk 51.

FIG. 22 and FIG. 23 show the connection between the rear stock 8 and thesystem housing. Parts of the two system housing halves 5, 6 are shownfor this purpose in FIG. 22. The connection is made by means of a screw57 which can be screwed into a corresponding hole in the system housinghalves 5, 6, through the rear stock 8, from its lower face. Thesignificant feature according to the invention in this case is that aflexible plastic part 58 holds the screw 57 in the area of the lowerface of the rear stock 8. The detailed view illustrated in FIG. 23 showsthat the flexible plastic part 58 has two arms 59 which are spaced apartfrom one another, run parallel to one another, and can hold the screwbetween them. The introduction of the screw results in the arms 59 beingbent away from one another to a certain extent, so that the clampingforce of the arms 59 holds the screw.

LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS

-   1 Barrel-   2 Breech-   3 Breech housing-   4 Trigger-   5, 6 System housing halves-   7 Front stock-   8 Rear stock-   9 Stock upper part-   10 Grip-   11, 12 Cutout-   13, 14 Panel-   15 Ejection window-   16 Ejector-   17 Extractor-   18 Slide retraction lever-   19 Longitudinal slot-   20 Circular opening-   21 Sear-   22 Spring guide rod-   23 Breech spring-   24 Stop damper-   25 End stop for 22-   26 Latching tongue-   27 Latching holder-   28 Holding plate-   29 Screw through 28-   30 Threaded hole-   31 Hole-   32 Conical cutout-   33 Head of 29-   34 Spring element-   35 Push rod-   36 Locking element-   37 Groove-   38, 39 Magazine holder-   40 Cutout behind 10-   41 Longitudinal slot-   42 Red marking-   43 Safety unit-   44 Operating slide-   45 Red safety bracket-   46 Red dot-   47 Childproof safety device-   48 Sight-   49 Mounting rail-   50 Sight part-   51 Disk-   52 Grooves-   53 Unlocking element-   54 Locking lever-   55 Spring-   56 Magazine-   57 Screw-   58 Flexible plastic part-   59 Arms of the part 58

1. A firearm comprising: a barrel; a breech housing having a breech heldin the housing; wherein the breech or breech housing enables the firearmto be changed from a first assembled arrangement, which is suitable forright-handed gunners, to a second assembled arrangement which issuitable for left-handed gunners.
 2. The firearm as claimed in claim 1,wherein parts used for the first assembled arrangement are identical toparts used for the second assembled arrangement.
 3. The firearm asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the breech or the breech housing isessentially left/right symmetrical in an installed position.
 4. Thefirearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the breech housing has cutoutsboth on a left-hand side in an installed position and on a right-handside in the installed position, whose size and position correspond toone another on the left-hand side and on the right-hand side.
 5. Thefirearm as claimed in claim 4, wherein panels and an injection windoware incorporated in the cutouts.
 6. The firearm as claimed in claim 4,wherein a slide retraction lever projects through one of the cutoutsboth on the right-hand side and on the left-hand side of the breechhousing, depending on the assembled arrangement.
 7. The firearm asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the breech has a longitudinal slot or acircular opening on the left-hand side and the right-hand side in aninstalled position.
 8. The firearm as claimed in claim 7, wherein a sizeand position of the longitudinal slot which is arranged on the left-handside correspond to a size and position of the longitudinal slot which isarranged on the right-hand side, or wherein a size and position of thecircular opening which is arranged on the left-hand side correspond to asize and position of the circular opening which is arranged on theright-hand side.
 9. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein anextractor or a slide retraction lever is fitted both on the left-handside of the breech and on the right-hand side of the breech.
 10. Afirearm comprising a barrel and a breech, wherein the breech is at leastpartially in the form of a metal injection molding part, composedsubstantially of steel.
 11. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe breech housing is at least partially manufactured from a zincdye-casting.
 12. A firearm comprising a barrel and a system housing,wherein the system housing is at least partially manufactured from azinc dye-casting.
 13. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a stock, wherein the stock is at least partially manufacturedfrom plastic.
 14. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, further comprisinga sear, wherein the sear is at least partially in the form of a metalinjection molded part, which is composed substantially of steel.
 15. Thefirearm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the barrel is connected to thebreech housing via an eccentric screw connection.
 16. The firearm asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the firearm further comprises a stock upperpart, which is connected to the breech housing via a latchingconnection.
 17. The firearm as claimed in claim 16, wherein the firearmfurther comprises a rear stock which covers the latching connectionbetween the stock upper part and the breech housing when the firearm isin an assembled state.
 18. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a trigger and a push rod, which are connected to one anothervia suitable connecting means, wherein the firearm has a magazine safetydevice which can block the push rod.
 19. The firearm as claimed in claim18, wherein the push rod is connected to the trigger via a springelement, in particular via an angled spring steel rod.
 20. The firearmas claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one breech spring,wherein the firearm has two breech springs which are parallel to oneanother.
 21. The firearm as claimed in claim 20, further comprising astop damper, wherein the stop damper is manufactured from plastic. 22.The firearm as claimed in claim 21, further comprising at least onespring guide rod for the at least one breech spring, wherein the stopdamper has at least one holder for guiding the spring guide rod.
 23. Thefirearm as claimed in claim 1, further comprising two magazine holders.24. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a grip and arecess which is arranged in a stock, the recess is used as a thumb holeand is behind the grip, and wherein an unlocking element for removal ofa magazine is arranged in a rear face of the recess.
 25. The firearm asclaimed in claim 1, further comprising a sight and a stock, wherein thestock has a mounting rail, and a sight part of the sight is integratedin the mounting rail.
 26. The firearm as claimed in claim 25, whereinthe sight part can be moved from a stow position to an in-use position,by moving the sight part upwards to the in-use position of the firearm.27. The firearm as claimed in claim 25, wherein the sight has a diskwhich can rotate and has grooves which are used for aiming, in whichcase different grooves are used to select different elevation positionsfor aiming.
 28. A firearm as claimed in claim 1, further comprising asafety unit, wherein the safety unit has at least one operating slidewith a safety vane which is arranged on it at an end and has a coloredmarking, with a safety vane which has a colored marking being visibleduring an aiming process, from above, when the firearm is in the armedstate.
 29. The firearm as claimed in claim 28, wherein the firearm has achildproof safety device which acts on the safety unit.
 30. The firearmas claimed in claim 1, wherein the firearm has a cocking indication. 31.The firearm as claimed in claim 30, wherein the cocking indication is inthe form of a colored marking on a rear face of one or more of panels,which are inserted into one or more of cutouts in the breech housing.32. The firearm as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a rear stockand a system housing, wherein the system housing is connected to therear stock by means of at least one screw which is held on the rearstock by means of a flexible plastic part.